Electrically-controlled combustion system



T. L. R. D'ORVILLE.

ELECTRiCALLY CONTROLLED cumausnow SYSTEM.

MPPLICATION FILED NOV. 26. 1918.

1,334,440, Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

THEODORE LIVINUS REEIMAKER DOBVILLE, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLED COMBUSTION SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

atcntc(.l Mar. 23, 1920.

Application filed November 26. 1918. Serial No. 264.178.

To all whom it ma concern.-

Be it known hat I, Tnnonoiui LIVINUS REEPMAKER nOnvlnnn, citizen of the United States. residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricallyControlled Combustion Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electrically controlled combustion system for igniting and lnn'ning liquid fuels, wherein a relatively heavy oil is employed as the fuel, and while the system is susceptible of more or less general use for heating purposes such for instance as the heating of intake manifolds of internal combustion engines to facilitate starting in cold winter weather, or the tiring of furnaces, it is particularly adapted for use in connection withsteam generat rs. I, 1

In the generation of steam as the motive power for selt-propellcd vehicles such as antomobiles. trucks. tractors, launches and the like. it has t'rcqucntly been the custom to utilize a liquid fuel as the agent of combustion for generating the necessary heat at the burner to vaporize the water. Heavy liquid t'ucls such as kcroscnc arc generally cmploycd for this purpose and therefore the problem ot'initially igniting thc same and starting the operation of the engine involves the provision of special equipment. more particularly because it is desirable to ignite thc burncr autouultically by an electrical spark. it is a well known fact that. a sprayed mixture of kcrosen'c and air. in which a sutlicicnt amount of air is present to insure complete combustion of the mixture cannot bc ig'nitcd by a small flame such as is ordinarily produced by an electric spark. llmw ver. a kerosene mixture having;' an exccss amount of liquid fuel can be ignited by an electric spark.

\Vhilc it has bccn heretofore noposed to ignite the fuel initially supplied to the burner autolmitically by an. electric spark through the closing of a switch convenient to the drivers seat. the means to this end is nevertheless somewhat complicated and involves much cumbersome equipment,the operation of and attention to which. has been generally regarded as a nuisance by the operator of the'vehicle, and in many instances creates a prejudice against the steam driven type of automobiles.

i-kccordingly, the present. invention has .primarily in view a novel electrically coir through the simple closing of an electric switch which not only erforms these two essential functions but a so sets in action the i necessary associated apparatus for continuing the operation of the burner on a l'clatively lean mixture. 1.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrically controlled combustion system of maximum simplicity and which may be relied uponto operate under all conditions of use. That is to say. the present invention aims to eliminate much of the equipment necessary for carrying out a somewhat similar function in devices of this character now in use, such for instance. comprcssed air involving a hand air pump. motor driven pump, connn'essed air tank. air pressure gage, various air valves. tiller. pilr ing. etc, or else the use of jasolcnc for priming.

\Vith the above and other objects in \'ic.\

'which will more readily appear as the na turc of the invention is better understood. the same consists in thc novcl constriu-tion. combination and. arraiurcment of parts hereinai'tcr more fully described. illustrated and claimed. a

pret'crrcd and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings. in which Figure 1 is a diagrannnatic view illustrating the relative position of the various instrumentalities utilized in carrying the present invention into effect.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of the electrical arrangement of the system. 4

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the mixer pipe having therein a form of special fuel valve contemplated by the present invention.

Fig. 4 is :1 diagrammatic view of the centrifugal cut-out which is utilized to break the circuit to the spark plug after the burner has been ignited and no deenergize the solenoid.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding arts throughout the several figures of the t rawin s.

Owing to the di culty, heretofore expressed, of igniting a relatively lean mixture of kerosene and air by an electric spark, that is, a mixture with the fuel an air present in such proportions as will avoid soot and clog ing up of the operatm iparts, it is the pract an excess of kerosene at the start, and in order to attain this end, so called starting and running nozzles are used, whereby after the mixture has been ignited from the starting nozzle the burner will continue to op erate on the loan mixture from the running nozzle only. Obviously, this means of accomplishing the starting not only involyes a multiplicity of parts and added equl mcnt but at the same time tends to provic ea further source of dilii'culty in the event of failure of assoclated parts to operate or properly function. 'lherefore, the prescut invention has invicw, as previously indicated, a simplified system which involves but one nozzle which performs all of the {functions of two nozzles heretofore employed.

With this primary distinction in view, reference may be had to Fig. l of thc drawings which shows a steam generator 5 having a combustion chamber 1 at its upper end and an exhaust fine 2 at its lower end, and connected with a radiator or condenser (I in any suitable and well known manner which is not important to the present invention. Leading to the combustion chamber 1 is a suitable burner device 3 which consists in the embodiment shown of a relatively short pipe section 4 opening into the combustion chamber at one end and connected at its opposite end with the discharge outlet 5 of a casing surrounding a blower fan' driven by a motor 6. ()n the end of the shaft 7 of the motor opposite the l'an is mounted a centrifugal cut-out device desig nated generally as 8 and diagrammatic-tilly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Also, an electric, storage battery 9 may be conveir icntly located with respect to llu parts to which it supplies current and an oha-trlcal generator 1( is preferably connected with the storage battery through a suitable relay 11 to char e the same in the well known manner. his electrical equipmci'it together with a high-pressure and low-water auto matic cut-out 12, a solenoid l3 fin-controllin, the atomized fuel flow from lhc nozzle. a coil 14 and spark plug 1!), complebis the electrical equipment of the system.

Refcrring now to Fig. 3 which more clearly shows the burner device it will he observed that the pipe section 4 carries the spark plug 15 adjacent the combustion chamber end thereof with the s arking points positioned close to and in the path oihlischarge from a Vontnri nozzle 16 suitably supported within the pipe 4, and havingan annular fuel supply groove 16 which cooperates with the support to provide an co to supply a mixture aving annular fuel chamber that communicates with a main fuel supply assage 17. The means for so porting t e venturl also serves as a guir c for a valve stem 18 whose needle head 18is normally prevented from entirely closing fuel escape orifice 20 in the venturi h the flange 18 restingon the bottom o the socket 18". The said stem 18 is also provided with a soft iron core 18" at its upper end which may be engaged by a spring 19 and lifted through the encrgization of the solenoid 13 to thereby fully uncover the orifice 20.

In connection with the means for directly controlling the esca is of fuel into the venturi that is, the ori ee 20 and the head 18 of the valve stem 18, it is to be observed that when the flange 18' of the stem rests on the bottom of the socket as above indicated either under its own weight or under tension of the spring 19, sufficient clearance is provided between the conical head and the rim ol' the orifice so that as the air is forced through the mixing section 4 by the blower a proper amount of fuel will be sucked out around the ll(2l .l 1% of the valve to form the propcr runningmixture. However. upon s arting the engin the ignition of the burner is accomplished through. the raising of thc the head l8, and l'ully uncover the orifice 20 so that a rclativcly unobstructed passage for the raw fuel is provided whereby the lirst blast of air iron: the fan blowei' will produce a. mixture having a preponderant amount of raw fuel to be blown out of the mouth of the vcntmi l6 and onto the spark ingterminals of the plug 15 which, simultaneously with the fitilltll'l;' up of the blower nircs oll' an igniting spark. Thus, it will be apparent that the present burne device contemplates a singlinozzle which upon starting;- is automatically opened to permit a maximum amount of fuel being aspirated through the \'rnturi nozzhto be ignited, and then, after the burner is in operation, returns to a substantially closed position to [)(J'llllhJ-HILY a relatively small amount of fuel to escape from the *lucl discharge orifice to produce a properly proporiiomul relatively lean mixture.

For the purpose ol"the present invention the diagrammatic showingo'f the centrifugal cut-out in Fig. H is sullicicntfand from this figure it will bcsobscrrml that the clocljric current is conveywl to a suitable mctallic portion of, l he shaft of the dcvirawhich 'IS Coaxial with the blower shaft 7. and

thence through the metallic. segments 21? which are mounted on the springs 22 fixed as at 23 to the rotary disk 24 connected with the motor shaft to revolve therewith, and from thence the current may be omlucted in any suitable manner out through the brush or like connection 25. Obviously, when the valve stem 18 so as to lift 3 lit) flll

lot)

lift) Segments 21 are in contact with the metallic portion of the shaft above referred to. current will pass uninterrimtcdly to the brush 25, whereby as the motor blower in creases in speed. the rotauy clement 2| will likewise increase in speed and cause the segments 21 to pull away from the current carrying shaft. and tlnIsPuLerrnpL the circuit flowing through the scgnnents and on out through the brush 25.

'lhe entirc electrical system may be more clearly understood by reference to Fig. 2 which diagrammath-ally shows the circuit involved, the apparatus and connections there indicated being the well known 'agner elce tric system, although it will be understood that. my invention is not limited to the use of this system. The storage battery 9 has one terminal grounded as at while its other terminal is electrically connected by the wire a; with one terminal of a relay ll. the closing coil of which latter is also grounded. as shown. and whose other terminal is electrically connected by the wire I; with one terminal of the generator It). The generator 10 and motor (l for dri\iu the fan or blower are electrically connected by the wire r' and the said motor (l is connected by the wire (I with one terminal of the high-pressure and lowater automatic cnt-ont 12. In connection with the motor (i it is to be noted that the motor in the \Vagner system referred to is grounded via the wire I: and the series winding of the generator. An electrical connec tion e including a hand switch j is connected to the other terminal of the automatic cntout l2 and with the battery wire (I as shown. The wire (I which is connected with the utomatic cut-out 12 is tapped b the wire 5/ which leads to one of the terminals of the solenoid 13 the other terminal of which is connected by the wire it with the metallic shaft of the centrifugal cut-out 8. The current passing from the wire I: makes'its way through the segments 21 of the centrifugal cut-out and thence to the brush .25, from whence it is conducted by the wire 1' to the induction coil 14 and from thence by the Wire j to the spark plug to. 7

When the hand switch 1'. which may be placed l'nany suitable position convenient to the driver, is closed current will flow from the storage battery .0 unm t the line r to the automatic high-pressure and low-water cut-out 12 and from thence to the solenoid 1; for the purpose of lifting the valve. head. 18, and from the solenoid through the wire I: to the centrifugal cut-out and from thence through the wire to the primary winding: of the coil 14 and from thence to the spark plug 15 by wire j. Also. when the hand switch is closed and current from the storage battery flows through the line c to the centrifugal cutou.t R and line (I, the motor of the blower or fan is simultaneously started.

Current will continue to pass through the solenoid 13, centrifugal cutout 8. coil 14 and spark plug 15 until the blower reaches such a speed as will cause the segments 21 of the centrifugal high-speed cut-out to pull away from the metallic conductor shaft of the c\ll-out. thus going ample opportnnitv for snllicient raw fuel to be supplied to the aHIllltlllthlI \eutilri iii to ignite the. burner. ()briouslw. a her the burner has been ignited there is no further need of the solenoid holding the \alre head [8" raised. and the speed of the blower which continues to furnish air for the burner will cause the automatic centrilug'al cut-out switch to break the circuit to the coil and spark plug.

Accordingly. it will be apparent that when the hand switch f is closed three functions take place simultaiu-ously: lirst the valve sit'lll 18 is lifted through the cnergizatirm of the solenoid 13 so as to give a rich fuel mixturc; second the blower motor is started up to send air through the pipe section '-l and Yclituri nozzle lb; and third. current flows through the coil H and to the spark plug- 1.) to produce the desired ignition. This en tire operation requires but two or three seconds and at the end of approximately that time the centrifugal cut-out Ft comes into operation to interrupt the flow of current to the coil and spark plug. When the current is interrupted to the spark plug the solenoid 13 is of course dei nergized' and the valve head lfi falls to its normal position to thus suppl only the proper amount of fuel for all running conditions.

'ith the arrangement described it will also be apparent that if the steam pressure in the boiler reaches an unsafe maximum. or the water falls below the minimum level prescribed for safety. then the combined high pressure and low water automatic cutout '12 will break the circuitfrom the battery to the blower motor as well as to the solenoid and spark plug: coil box so that all current coir slnnptiou is immediately stopped. 'lhestopping of the blower motor again cuts in the centrifugal switch. so that when the high pressure and low water switch again cuts in the whole scql u-ncc of operation may be repeated.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a novel and distinctive feature of the present invention the provision of means whereby the simple closing of a band switch operates a single nozzle dci'icc so as to sup ply an initial fuel-charge to theispark plug, which fuel charge contains a maximum amount of liquid fuel to insure the ,n;elinrinary innit ion of the burner. Then, after the burner has started to operate. the continued action of [the blower which supplies the forced draft .0 the burner will cause the elec- I trical circuit of the spark ping: to bebroken 'antomatically a l(l thus prevent the unnecessary expenditure of current throngh this source. and at the same time set the single fuel nozzle automatically to its normal running position. Furthermore, it Wlll also be observed that the burner device discharges into the combustion chamber 1 which is arranged at the top of the generator whereby the heat of mmbustion must pass doivnwardly through the fines of the generator to get to the exhaust line 2. This arrange ment produces what may be termed a contra flow generating system since it is proposed to cause the water flow to be opposite to the How of gases, and has the advantage. among others, of permitting the assembling of the burner device and associated parts in a readily accessible position while at the same time saving long pipe connections and the like which would only complicate the atructure and add unnecessary weight.

I claim;

1. An electrically controlled combustion system includ ng a burncudcvicc having a fuel nozzle provided with means for automatically varying the quantity of liquid fuel issuing from said nozzle to thereby obtain a relatively ricn initial mixture for ignition purposes and it subsequently relatively lean mixture for continued operation from the same nozzle.

2. An electrically controllct'l combustion system including a urner dcvicc having a fuel nozzle provided with control means for automatically varying the amount of fuel issuing from said nozzle. a spark plug. and means automatically operating simultaneously with the fuel control means to cause said spark plug to ignite the fuel mixture, and subsequently becomiinoperative 3. An automatic combustion control system comprising a burner deviceincluding a combined starting, and running fuel atomizin}! nozzle. a sparking device. means for supplying an. air blast to the burner dcviccf means for releasing a startlingcharge of fuel. and electrical nicans for simultaneously causing the operation of the sparking device and air blast means as the fuel atomizing nozzle releases the starting charge of fuel.

4. An automatic combustion control tem comprising a burner device including a casino, a combined starting and running fuel atomizing nozzle including a valve arranged within the casing, and including a Venturi tube disposed longitudinally of the casing. a spark plug having its terminals arranged in the path of discharge from the venturi, a blower device for supplying an air blast to the burner casing, and electrical means for simultaneously. operating the valve of the nozzle, spark plug, and blower.

5. An automatic combustion control system comprisin a burner device including a casing, 21 combined starting and running fuel etomizing nozzle arranged within the casing,

said nozzle including a Vcnturi tube within the casing and having a raw fuel discharge outlet therein, a. valve including a head adapted to normally restrict the raw fuel outlet whereby a relatively small amount of raw fuel may escape into the venturi. a sole noid for automatically lifting said valve whereby the raw tucl discharge out h t of the nozzle is entirely uncomrcd. a spark plug havin its terminalsin the path ol' dischargifrom he \cntllri. a blower device connected with the burner casing. and electrical lll(ttll for simultaneously cncr izing the solenoid of the valve and furnishing current to the spark plug, and also causing the operation of the blower.

6. An automatic combustion control tern comprising a burner device including a spark plug and a solenoid actuated starting and running valve. :1 motor operated blower device for furnishing an air blast to the burner device. a htltl'l'tt' of electric energy, an electri al connection between the said source of clcctric cncrgy and the blower device and including a \Wllf'l]. another elec trical connection between .\:\l l source of electric energy and the solenoid and spark pluq. and an autonmtir rcntril'ugal higlr speed cut-out included in the circuit of the last named electrical onnection. \ill(l automatic centrifugal cut-out licing associated with the blower device to automatically in tcrrupt current to the spark plug and sole noid when the latter reaches a .sutiicicut rate of speed.

7. An automatic combustion control sys tem comprising a burner device including a spark plug and a combined runnii'ig and starting valve, a motor operated blower device for furnishing an air blast to the burner, electrical means for simultaneously causing the operation of the spark plug and blower device and also setting the fuel valve to starting )osition, and automatic means assmiated with the blower device for rendcring the spark plug inoperative. and permitting the fuel valve to return to its nor mal position.

8. An automatic combustion control sys term for steam generators comprising in combination with the generator, a burner device including a spark plug and a combincd running and starting fuel supply valve. a. blower device for supplying an air blast to the burner, a solenoid associated with the burner device and adapted. to cause the fuel valve to discharge a relatively large amount of raw fuel to start the burner and when dei nergized permit the fuel valve to return to normal running position. a source of electric ener an electri cal eonnectionbetween said source of ener and the blower device, said connection including a hand switch and a combined highpressure and low-water automatic cut-out, an

tall

automatic centrifugal cut-out associated with the blower and adapted to permit the flow of current therethrough until the blower reaches a predetermined speed, an other electrical connection tapping the first mentioned electrical conne ion between the high-pressure and low-water cm 1 out and the blower and including in its circuit the solenoid, automatic centrifugal cut-out and the spark plug, whereby when the blower reaches a predetermined speed current will cease to flow in the last mentioned electrical connection, but will continue to flow to the first mentioned connection to continue the operation of the blower.

9. An automatic combustion control sys tem for steam generators, including a generator having a fire box at its upper end and an exhaust flue at its lower end, a. burner device openin into the fire box, and including a combine starting and running valve and a spark plug, a blower device for supplying an air blast to the burner, and electrical means for simultaneously supplying current to the terminals of the spark plug and starting the blower and setting the fuel valve to starting osition, and auto matic electrical means or rendering the spark plug inoperative and returning the fuel valve to running position, but permitting the continued operation of the blower.

10. An electrically controlled combustion system including a burner device provided with a fuel supply nozzle having a discharge orifice, and electrically operated means whereby said orifice may be automaticully controlled to discharge fuel for both starting and running puiposes.

11. An automatically controlled combustion system including a burner device having a fuel .supply orifice, means for automatically varying the outlet area of the oriflee to release a relatively large initial fuel charge, and subsequently throttle the orifice to furnish fuel for a lean gaseous mixture.

12. An automaticallycontrolled combustion system including, a burner device having a fuel supply orifice, a charge igniting device arranged in operative relation to the burner device, means for energizing the igniting device and simultaneously controlling the fucl supply orifice to provide for a relatively large initial fuel charge and for simultaneously rendering the igniting device inoperntive with the reduction of the fuel charge.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. THEUDOBE LIVINUS REEPMAKER D'0RVILLE. Witnesses:

V. Y. SMITH, Fnossm Roo'rsono. 

